Coal-washing machine



s. STUTZ. Coal Washing Machine. No. 242,711. Patented June 1881.

WITNESSES W Jaw/1% 'A To/away UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SEBASTIAN STUTZ, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

COAL-WASHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,711, dated June 7, 18181.l

' apprenant filed october 18,1319.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SEBAs'IIAN STUTZ, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new' and'useful Improvements in Coal-Washing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference 4being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of the improved machine, and Fig. 2 a top-plan view of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

This invention relates to that class of machines which are employed to separate coal from its impurities-slate, sulphur, &c.pre viously to its manufacture into coke, and more particularly to that variety in which the materials to be operated upon are delivered upon a sieve or sieves suspended in abody of water, and there subjected to the action of sudden pulsating currents of water directed through the sieve from below, whereby the said materials are alternately lifted from the 'sieve and then allowed to settle and arrange themselves in accordance with their specific gravity, the coal,from its lightness, being carried over the edge of the water-compartment and discharged from the machine, and the other materials, in their turn, being otherwise disposed of.

The object of the invention is to simplify and improve the construction and operation of the machines heretofore used; and to this end it consists, irst, of a vibrating apron or piston arranged vertically beneath the sieve and hinged or fulcrumed on the side next the tail of the sieve; and, secondly, of a peculiarly-constructed slate-valve, in combination with the sieve and the slate chamber or receptacle, all which will be hereinafter fully explained.

In the drawings, A represents the box or compartment of the machine in which the separation of the materials is effected. It is water-tight, and is filled with water and maintained full duringthe operation of the machine by means of a stream introduced through a supply-pipe, S. In the upper end of the compartment an inclined sieve, B, is arranged, its upper end extending under a feed chute or hopper, G, and its lower end terminating at the valve D, through which the slate and other heavy materials with which the coal is mixed are permitted to escape. Below the screen, and covering two-thirds, Inore or less, of the area of the compartment A, a vibrating apron, E, is arranged. Said apron is preferably inclined in the direction of the sieve, and its lower end is hinged to a cross bolt or shaft, F, passing transversely through the compartment.

III order to effect aperfect separation of the materials upon the sieve, it is essential that the upward currents of water, to which they are subjected, should be sudden and percussive, with an interval of time occurring be-A tween them to enable the materials to properly arrange themselves according to their different specific gravity. To secure this result in the present machine, it is only necessary to provide means for imparting a sudden upward movement and a gradual downward movement to the apron E, and I have found a simple and effective arrangement to be one or more cams, I, arranged upon a cross-shaft, .Land adapted, when rotated, to lift the apron quickly and allow it to drop back gradually to its lowest position. In Fig. l I have shown by arrows the direction of the currents produced by the quick upward movement of the apron E. The cam-sh aft is provided with stuin g-boxes where it passes through the sides of the machine, and one of its ends is provided with a pulley, L, by which motion is communicated from a belt connected with any suitable motor.

A very important advantage results from locating the vibrating apron or'piston Within the main water compartment vertically beneath the sieve, as shown-namely, the space directly beneath the sieve is utilized for the double purpose of containing water and the means for agitating it, and the necessity of employing an exterior agitating chamber is avoided and the whole apparatus rendered more compact than machines of this` character heretofore made. Inasmuch as the hingngpoint or fulcrurn of the apron is on the side next the delivery or tail end of the sieve B, it follows that the greatest jigging motion of the IOD Water is produced at the upper end ofthe sieve, where the materials are tirst introduced, and

that such jigging motion diminishes uniformlytoward the tail end of the sieve. Moreover, as the direction of the currents produced is in the arc of a circle whose center is the fulcrum ot the apron, the action of such currents is to lift up the materials vand gradually for- Ward them toward the tail of the sieve, the lifting-up and forwarding motion being slower and less violent as the tail of the sieve is approached. The feeding` of the material across the sieve being therefore effected by the water-currents alone, it becomes unnecessary to employ raking and scrapiu g mechanism for accomplishing that object. The separated materials, as they near the tail of the sieve, become more quiet and undisturbed, and

the lighter matteri. c. the eoal--is carried over the edge of the partition N by the overflowing water, and, falling upon an inclined vscreen or sieve, 0, is directed out of the machine to a place prepared for its reception.

The slate-valve D, through which the slate, sulphur, or other heavy substances pass from the sieve and out of the compartment A, is of cylindrical form and Works in a correspondingly-formed slot in the partition N. Said valve is provided with an inlet-port, a, and an outlet-port, b, the former of which admits the passage of the slate and other heavy materials from the sieve, and the latter directs them into the slate chamber P. The outlet port b is larger than the inlet-port a, and they are so arranged that they may both be open at the same time, or the inlet-port may be closed either partially or entirely and yet leave the outletport wide open. During the operation of the machine both ports are left open, and theinlet port is regulated according` to the amount of impurities contained in the coal. The adjustments of this slate-valve D are effected by means of a suitable handle. (Shown at Q.) When the slatechamber l? becomes full the Valve D is turned so as to close the inlet-port, and by pressure applied to a foot-lever, R, a gate, T, is raised and the contents of said chamber discharged from the machine. The

gate is then allowed to drop back to its seat and the valve once more opens, as before. The dirt, mud, and fine pieces ot' slate and sulphur which pass through the sieve fall upon the npper surface of the apron E, but the inclined pos'tion of the latter and the movement imparted to it cause such substances to slide off the lower end and between the partitions U and U', being thence directed by the converging sides ot' said-partitions into the space V below the apron.

A valve, W, operated by means of a lever, X, 'is provided in the bottom of the machine, for letting out the mnd and accumulated sediment from time to time. l

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new- 1. In a coal-washing machine, the combination, with the water compartment and the separating sieve or sieves arranged therein, of the vibrating apron E, located vertically below said sieve or sieves, and hinged or fulcrumed on the side next the tail ot the sieve or sieves, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. In a coal-washing machine, the combina tion, with the watercompartment and the separating sieves arranged therein, as described, ot'the apron E, located vertically below said sieve and hinged or fulcrumed on the side next the tail ofthe sieve, and of the shaft and cams for vibrating the apron, substantially as described.

3. In a coal-washing machine, the combination, with the inclined sieve B and the chamber P, of the slate-valve D and its seat, provided with openings, said valve having a small inlet-port and a large outlet-port, whereby, upon rotating the valve in the proper direction, thc outlet-port will be left Wide open, whether the inlet-port be partially or wholly closed, and the accumulation of the material in the valve prevented, substantially as de'- scribed.

S. STUTZ. Witnesses:

M. CHURCH, W. BLAoKs'rocK. 

